Google: Image Search Overhaul Will Deliver Higher Click-Through Rates

Google will be rolling out an overhaul to its image search function. The revamped image search will provide a more prominent display space for selected images and a new scrolling function to make it easier to look at results.

“You will be able to quickly flip through a set of images by using the keyboard,” wrote Hongyi Li, associate product manager in a blog post. “If you want to go back to browsing other search results, just scroll down and pick up right where you left off.”

More information on the results will also be displayed, including metadata, the page hosting the image, its size, and domain name. This is designed to increase click-through rates to the sites hosting the images.

Google said in its own tests it’s seen an (unspecified) average increase in the click-through as a result of incorporating this information more prominently.

This week, both LinkedIn and Facebook are beefing up their paid social offerings in different ways, while Google seeks to cut off Adwords revenues for fake news sites. And might Google be favouring desktop over its own AMP in its upcoming mobile-first index?

Here we’ll take a look at the basic things you need to know in regards to search engine optimisation, a discipline that everyone in your organisation should at least be aware of, if not have a decent technical understanding.